You should try d9200. They are more resolving and way more brighter, balanced and leaner than d7200. Or buy the d9200 drivers for cheap and replace them with d7200 drivers
I found the link to the latest AliExpress driver.
The cheapest and nicest housing for the price, is not in AliExpress, but in Hifiman website. The HE-R9:
This is specifically because the 9200 is not having extra harmonics, like the 7200. It is cleaner sounding.
Focal Clears are fast, clean, punchy and resolving, but all of them focals lack the low-end sonics and image size. For instance, I was listening to a track with the top Focal Utopia, and it displayed amazing bass articulation, but when switching headphones to a Hifiman HEK, my mouth dropped as I was shocked by the low end bass drop, as if the floor had dropped below me. So bass weight & image size suffers a bit with all focals (limit of 40mm piston driver).
I believe they HAD to update the 7200 driver, because too many early units (like mine) were failing. The issue is that their driver is a bit "naked" and raw in construction, with no outer rear casing. Somehow the coil starts to crackle on defective units. My guess is the layers shift as there is no outer casing of either plastic or metal on them, so not sure if that plays a role in conformity (my guess).
They are not the same regardless. The 9200 has a noticably closer sonic image, due to the increased magnetic strength, but same (flatter) exterior rear dimensions.
Just to clarify I have both the clears and the d7200. The clears are nowhere near as fast as the d7200. The d7200s have more bass and sub bass volume but the clears have more mid bass and far more impact and weight. Albeit the clears don't extend well and rolls off steeply into the sub bass.I found the link to the latest AliExpress driver.
It is basically a variation/clone of the "ETA Headphones" driver design.
I have heard these in a "four bolt" design (bigger) prototype an "ETA headphone" 1.5yr ago, and also bought them from AliExpress, but not used them yet.
They are expected to be superior to 7200 in resolution, and IMO matching 9200 level, because the prototype "ETA headphone" was noticably superior with these drivers.
They had the neutral imaging of the 7200, with a higher resolve, as opposed to the "closer", more forward imaging of a 9200. I would say very close on par in resolve, but with more soundstage depth.
Here is Link:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mP40tme
You can see the dual concentric magnet design a little bit here:
This magnetic design was the only solution to increase magnetic field, because you cannot go higher without moving the "magnetic center" outward from the voice coil area (were the coil needs to be) , which would necessitate longer/deeper voice coil (like the focals).
The problem is always magnet quality & purity (strength rating) so the effective increase in this design is not really double, (due to quality & thinness), but it's still noticably better than any single magnet design. It (theoretically & from what I heard) can "Trump" the 9200, which (so far) had the strongest motor of the biolcelulous drivers (even all fostex and ZMF biolcelulous drivers) IMO.
The cheapest and nicest housing for the price, is not in AliExpress, but in Hifiman website. The HE-R9:
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/he-r9.html
Only $109 is a great buy for a donor housing to try different drivers. The baffle plate is not like the Denon/fostex, so the frequency response would be affected. Usually less baffle plate holes (as this one) generally brings out more midrange in my experience, which would suit drivers that have dip in that area (like these AliExpress anyways).
So knowing this, (for example) you could take a "U-shaped" Fostex TH900, and make it more "neutral" by covering some of the baffle plate holes (!)
This is specifically because the 9200 is not having extra harmonics, like the 7200. It is cleaner sounding.
Also, The "soundstage" aspect is true, but not exactly. Image is actually larger, but noticably closer and deeper, so the perceived soundstage is different. This is due to the increased magnetic field, without Denon adjusting for the slightly skewed closer image.
The proof is they kept the same outer rear dimensions for the "rear motor" casing.
As example, different fostex drivers have different rear sized housing according to the bigger magnetic motor on the better ones.
It is an engineering aspect, that you can "skew" the image with the magnetic field (same can be done with tubes & bias points, but that's another topic).
I have done this in my own driver design experiments, even making image more distant. In Denon's case, they just slightly "magnified" it.
The result is Denon engineering dept increased performance (resolution) without adjusting for a neutral image, so it's an acquired taste, as details pop more lively.
Focal Clears are fast, clean, punchy and resolving, but all of them focals lack the low-end sonics and image size. For instance, I was listening to a track with the top Focal Utopia, and it displayed amazing bass articulation, but when switching headphones to a Hifiman HEK, my mouth dropped as I was shocked by the low end bass drop, as if the floor had dropped below me. So bass weight & image size suffers a bit with all focals (limit of 40mm piston driver).
I believe they HAD to update the 7200 driver, because too many early units (like mine) were failing. The issue is that their driver is a bit "naked" and raw in construction, with no outer rear casing. Somehow the coil starts to crackle on defective units. My guess is the layers shift as there is no outer casing of either plastic or metal on them, so not sure if that plays a role in conformity (my guess).
They are not the same regardless. The 9200 has a noticably closer sonic image, due to the increased magnetic strength, but same (flatter) exterior rear dimensions.
Hope this helps, and not too much info.
. It's not trivial. I'd suggest people use ready made headphones and tweak from replaceable ear pads, rather than from changing the driver loading.Your knowledge is amazing.I found the link to the latest AliExpress driver.
It is basically a variation/clone of the "ETA Headphones" driver design.
I have heard these in a "four bolt" design (bigger) prototype an "ETA headphone" 1.5yr ago, and also bought them from AliExpress, but not used them yet.
They are expected to be superior to 7200 in resolution, and IMO matching 9200 level, because the prototype "ETA headphone" was noticably superior with these drivers.
They had the neutral imaging of the 7200, with a higher resolve, as opposed to the "closer", more forward imaging of a 9200. I would say very close on par in resolve, but with more soundstage depth.
Here is Link:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mP40tme
You can see the dual concentric magnet design a little bit here:
This magnetic design was the only solution to increase magnetic field, because you cannot go higher without moving the "magnetic center" outward from the voice coil area (were the coil needs to be) , which would necessitate longer/deeper voice coil (like the focals).
The problem is always magnet quality & purity (strength rating) so the effective increase in this design is not really double, (due to quality & thinness), but it's still noticably better than any single magnet design. It (theoretically & from what I heard) can "Trump" the 9200, which (so far) had the strongest motor of the biolcelulous drivers (even all fostex and ZMF biolcelulous drivers) IMO.
The cheapest and nicest housing for the price, is not in AliExpress, but in Hifiman website. The HE-R9:
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/he-r9.html
Only $109 is a great buy for a donor housing to try different drivers. The baffle plate is not like the Denon/fostex, so the frequency response would be affected. Usually less baffle plate holes (as this one) generally brings out more midrange in my experience, which would suit drivers that have dip in that area (like these AliExpress anyways).
So knowing this, (for example) you could take a "U-shaped" Fostex TH900, and make it more "neutral" by covering some of the baffle plate holes (!)
This is specifically because the 9200 is not having extra harmonics, like the 7200. It is cleaner sounding.
Also, The "soundstage" aspect is true, but not exactly. Image is actually larger, but noticably closer and deeper, so the perceived soundstage is different. This is due to the increased magnetic field, without Denon adjusting for the slightly skewed closer image.
The proof is they kept the same outer rear dimensions for the "rear motor" casing.
As example, different fostex drivers have different rear sized housing according to the bigger magnetic motor on the better ones.
It is an engineering aspect, that you can "skew" the image with the magnetic field (same can be done with tubes & bias points, but that's another topic).
I have done this in my own driver design experiments, even making image more distant. In Denon's case, they just slightly "magnified" it.
The result is Denon engineering dept increased performance (resolution) without adjusting for a neutral image, so it's an acquired taste, as details pop more lively.
Focal Clears are fast, clean, punchy and resolving, but all of them focals lack the low-end sonics and image size. For instance, I was listening to a track with the top Focal Utopia, and it displayed amazing bass articulation, but when switching headphones to a Hifiman HEK, my mouth dropped as I was shocked by the low end bass drop, as if the floor had dropped below me. So bass weight & image size suffers a bit with all focals (limit of 40mm piston driver).
I believe they HAD to update the 7200 driver, because too many early units (like mine) were failing. The issue is that their driver is a bit "naked" and raw in construction, with no outer rear casing. Somehow the coil starts to crackle on defective units. My guess is the layers shift as there is no outer casing of either plastic or metal on them, so not sure if that plays a role in conformity (my guess).
They are not the same regardless. The 9200 has a noticably closer sonic image, due to the increased magnetic strength, but same (flatter) exterior rear dimensions.
Hope this helps, and not too much info.
I have ordered d9200 drivers for my d7200 casing, how much will it affect the sound quality? Do you know anything about it?Very informative post up there! I'd just like to nuance the statement above, as I think the strongest biocellulose driver magnet might actually belong to the TH900, and it's also more sensitive than the D9200 driver, with somewhat bigger dynamic swings. However, after some mods and testing, I'd say they are pretty close.
Coincidentally, both suffer from treble issues. Probably those could be addressed by coating the dome parts, just like with dome tweeters (e.g. ScanSpeak Revelators).
The D7200 drivers are more linear in the treble, but the resolution is less, especially in the bass. If it's true they modified the D7200 drivers recently (and evidence is gathering up), I'd say target that as a good compromise. But then know that the best sounding housing for these drivers comes from the D9200, at least according to my listening tests. The D9200 housing plus the new D7200 would be about the same price as a new D9200, so that's an option for people who can't stand the D9200 treble. Or, get both D7200 and D9200, swap the driver plates, and sell the D7200 housing (and cables) with the D9200 drivers, or vice versa -- I am not sure which would be better, since the D7200 housing and cables does tame a bit the D9200 drivers.
About the driver loading in cabinets/cups, it's a complex balancing act, using front baffle Onken loading, finetuned with the acoustic sheet over the ports, and I would not touch that, unless someone knows what they are doing. ZMF made a living out of fine-tuning biocellulose driver loading, with some wide ranging results
Lol, i just used d7200 for 30mins before the driver gave up. I will compare the left d9200 with left d7200
Because I owned and tested them. You can test too, various ways. I use both a ferrocell and, more simply, a compass, which is actually very sensitive to magnetic fields.
Probably next month because I left all my headphones stuff in Florida, while I'm still up here in NYC .
This is actually very possible to do. When I was being taught recording engineering, my professor taught me to use my best ear, and only one ear(cupped), for microphone placement.Lol, i just used d7200 for 30mins before the driver gave up. I will compare the left d9200 with left d7200
That's not unusual. I once waited for HD800 drivers, but from another place.
focal drivers are insane
I ordered a part for my Denon and Encompass didn't have it in stock. They explained that it was normally available, but they were waiting on Denon to send them more inventory. It took two months for Encompass to get it in, but from that point, shipping was reasonably quick.
They said to me that in a month they will deliver it
I'd say there is a good chance of them delivering on that schedule. They were candid about being at the mercy of Denon when I ordered my part, and they couldn't/wouldn't give me an exact date. If they are telling you a specific time period, I think they are more certain about the delivery for yours.
They didn’t gave me exact date, but they said maybe at the mid of march
